


Lee

by Ethnee



Series: Tales of the Fallen [1]
Category: The Walking Dead (Telltale Video Game)
Genre: Friendship, Gen, His Ex-Wife, Love Lost - Freeform, Macon, Tragedy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-17
Updated: 2017-07-17
Packaged: 2018-12-03 10:08:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,470
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11530017
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ethnee/pseuds/Ethnee
Summary: Where it all started.





	Lee

_"Lee David Everett!"_

The boy jerked, dropping his action figures. The transformers got thrown into a drawer, the ninja turtles hidden under his father's desk. "Coming, ma!" Lee dashing out of the office, throwing on his apron and running into the pharmacy to his mother's side.

"Didn't I tell you to go help your father unload those delivery crates?" Mrs. Everett demanded, raising a thin, intimidating eyebrow.

"Yes, mama."

"And did you?"

"... No, mama."

Two fingers darted through the air, clamping down on Lee's ear and eliciting a yelp from the boy's lips. Even with a child growing in her belly, Faye Everett still had reflexes quick as a whip. "Lee, go do what I told you or I'll give you something to cry about, you hear me, boy?" Lee nodded, brown eyes wide. Faye released his ear, ruffling her sons thick, dark hair. "Now, get."

Lee sprinted to the back of the shop, the unloading bay where unopened crates awaited him. With a sigh, the seven year old picked up a crowbar and started unboxing the crates, using his meager weight to pop open their lids. After half an hour of intense labor, Lee heard the sounds of his father returning from the bank. "Where's Lee?"

"In here, daddy!" Lee called, wiping the sweat from his brow. Malcolm Everett came into the unboxing room, a toothy smile on his round face.

"There's my boy," he grinned, and swept the boy off his feet, enveloping the child in a hug. "What is the birthday boy doin' all the way back here?"

Lee giggled. "It ain't my birthday yet, daddy."

Malcolm nodded sagely. "Oh, you're right. It's not. It's your birthday  _eve_ , I see. How old are you turning tomorrow?"

The boy squirmed indignantly in his father's arms. "Daddy! Don't you know how old I am?"

"Mm... 'fraid it slipped my mind, little man. Mind helping your old man remember?" Malcolm grinned, lean fingers reaching up to tickle the boy.

Lee raised his chin, folding his arms. "Tomorrow I'm gonna be eight years old."

The older man, still carrying his son, carried Lee out of the unloading bay and down the hall, heading towards the pharmacy. His face twisted into mock shock. "Eight years old! Well, I'll be. I guess it's time you move out on your own. Once you turn eight, might as well be a grown-up."

Lee laughed. "I'm not a grown-up _yet_."

"No?"

"Nope."

"Oh. My mistake then." Malcolm planted a big kiss on his son's cheek, making Lee squirm and yelp, trying to rub the spit off to the entertainment of his father. The pair arrived at the pharmacy, where Lee returned to the ground and the senior Everett gave his wife an intimate kiss. "Faye, my darling, should you really be on your feet so much?"

The woman smiled. "Malcolm, I'm only a few months along. I ain't disabled, just pregnant."

Malcolm gave his wife another kiss. "Whatever you say, sweetheart. Now, tell me - why would you send out my only child thus far to go unbox crates on the day before his birthday?"

Still smiling, Faye glanced at her son. "Because regardless of birthday or no, you should always do what your mama tells you."

Malcolm stroked the stubble on his chin, before turning to Lee with a sympathetic expression. "I'm afraid that's true, my boy. You should always listen to your mama."

"But what about my daddy?" Lee questions, crossing his arms. "Should I listen to him?"

The older man glanced at his wife, who watched the exchange with a raised eyebrow. "Well..." Malcolm leaned down to his son, but whispered loud enough his wife could hear. "Between you and me, I always listen to your mama too, so I'm not entirely sure."

Faye chuckled. "You're both impossible. Get outta my pharmacy!" She swatted at both the men in her life, ushering them outside before returning to her business. As the two Everett gentlemen left, a family entered the store, two people with a little girl at their heels. Malcolm rested a hand on his son's shoulder, this time making sure to whisper effectively.

"Lee, would you mind helping those customers? I've gotta go handle some things in my office."

Lee nodded, and got a familial ruffle of the hair for his agreement. Now, Macon was a fairly modern city, and most city folk might not want a small boy looking after a business, but the Everett family and store resided in the smaller part of town. The people here were a little kinder, a little more understanding.

The older people in the family, presumably the family of the young girl, went to the pharmacy counter and ordered what sounded like some painkillers or some such, easy over-the-counter stuff. Lee watched them, standing proudly at the single check-out area in the store, his height boosted by the multiple phone books he perched on. He watched as the little girl examined the candy section of the store, eventually deciding on a chocolate bar before coming up to the check-out counter. When she saw Lee, arms crossed, looking across the counter at her, her mouth fell open. She glanced from side to side, then leaned in, whispering. "Are you supposed to be back there?"

Lee smirked slightly. "Yup. My parents own this place."

The little girl seemed very impressed. "Really?"

"Yup."

"Cool. Can- can I buy this?" She slid the chocolate bar onto the counter.

Lee sniffled, and with a little pomp, picked the chocolate bar up and examined it. "Hershey's Milk Chocolate, sell by date 10/21/82. Hm." He made a show of looking over his cash register, then back to the girl. "D'ya have money?"

The little girl nodded, pulling two quarters out of her pocket and putting them on the counter. Lee took them, pressing more buttons on the cash register than was necessary before finishing the transaction. "Here you go, miss. Your receipt, and twenty cents in change. Have a good day."

The girl, eyes wide, took the small plastic bag offered to her and stepped away from the counter, small fingers tearing into the candy wrapper. Lee thought for a moment, then took off his apron and pulled a chocolate bar off the shelf, unwrapping it at her side. The little girl gasped. "Can you do that?"

Lee took a bite of the chocolate. "Oo 'at?"

The girl gestured to the candy. "Just take candy like that."

Lee swallowed and nodded. "Yup. Well, sometimes. My dad lets me, but I can't do it in front of my mom."

"Oh." A moment passed as they ate their candy in silence. "What's your name?"

"Lee. What's yours?"

"Shanna."

"That's a nice name."

"Thank you." Another few moments passed.

"So," Lee said, wiping some chocolate from his cheek. "What are you doing here?"

"My family's moving here. We're going to live up the street, and be neighbors with my cousins. My mom just got a headache and since we're here we decided to stop off and get some medicine."

"That's cool. I live here, actually."

"Yeah?"

"Mhm. My family lives upstairs."

"Cool!"

"I know." Lee grinned. "So, maybe we'll see each other around?"

Before Shanna could answer, her parents called for her. The girl waved goodbye as she ran to her parents side. "See ya, Lee!"

"Bye, Shanna!"

 

"Goodbye, Shanna."

Lee's voice was cold, emotionless, despite the tightness in his throat and the heat in his eyes. He stared at his wife while the officers cuffed his hands behind his back, his gaze unmet as his once-spouse refused to look at him. The officers dragged him away, but Lee stared at her until the police pulled him out of the courtroom and he couldn't see her anymore. Once she left his line of sight, his head dropped, eyes low until the courthouse doors swung open and a cacophony of noise greeted him.

"Mr. Everett!"

"Mr. Everett, people are saying that-"

"-rett, after some push for the electric chair, are you-"

"This is a racist verdict! He wouldn't-"

"Mr. Everett, would you please-"

Cameras flashed all around him, microphones pressed up to his face until the reporters were ushered away by security. He kept his head down, heat pooling behind his eyes as he was ushered into the waiting police car, the car door clicking shut and muffling all sound. He didn't look up again until the police car was down the road, and the sounds of reporters far behind them. Only then did he raise his chin and take a look at his surroundings.

The police car stayed silent until they were well down the highway, on their way to the prison cell Lee had been sentenced to. Then, the driver adjusted his rear-view mirror.

"Well, I reckon you didn't do it then."


End file.
